Tieback for curtains



June 24, 1941. B RQSENBERG 2,247,253

. TIEBACK FOR CURTAINS Filed Jan. 31, 1941 BERNARD Rosz/vzks.

INVENTOR.

f 1 BY M k A Y 0 KEYS Patented June 24, 1941 UNITED STATES FFICE 4 Claims.

My present invention relates generally to draped curtains and has particular reference to animproved type of tie-back.

The conventional tie-back consists of a strip of material adapted to be doubled upon itself to form a loop within which the curtain is gathered, the ends of the strip being provided with loops or similar fasteners by means of which they may both be secured to the wall or frame adjacent to the curtain. An outstanding disadvantage of this usual construction lies in the fact that the tie-back has a fixed length, as a result of which the loop that is formed by it is of invariable size.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an improved tie-back which is adjustable in effective length, thereby permitting the size of the loop to be varied, and thereby affording to the user an opportunity to gather the draped curtain to varying extents, depending upon the decorative effect that is desired.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide a tie-back of the character mentioned, in which the advantage of adjustability is attained without complicating the basically simple nature of the tie-back, and without requiring any special fixtures or other accessories.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tie-back whose effective length may be varied with great ease by even the most unskilled person.

Among the advantages of the present improved tie-back is its extreme simplicity of structure, whereby its cost of manufacture is no greater than, and may even be less than, the cost of the conventional type of tie-back; and the ease with which it may be installed and adjusted.

A particular feature of my invention lies in the fact that the construction is of such a nature that the tie-back is self-retaining, i. e., it automatically retains itself at any adjusted effective length.

I achieve the foregoing objects and advantages, and such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of a curtain installation showing an illustrative use of tiebacks of the present character;

Figure 2 is a plan View of the present improved tie-back, shown by itself;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of one end of the tie-back, as seen from underneath;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the tie-back in use, this view being taken substantially along the line 44 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational View taken substantially along the direction 5!') of Figure 4, i. e., from the window or wall' side of the draped curtain.

The drapery or curtain installation which I have chosen to illustrate, to explain the nature of the present tie-back, consists of two panels l0 and H and a valance l2, although it will be understood that the present invention is by no means restricted to this specific style of drapery. I have shown each of the panels l0 and l I gathered and drawn back at a midportion and held in place by the tie-backs l3 and M. The present invention relates specifically to these tie-backs.

. The tie-back of the present invention consists essentially of an elongated strip of flexible material, preferably though not necessarily of the same material as that of which the draped curtain itself is composed. At one end, the strip. is provided with a fastener by means of which the tie-back may be secured, at that end, to the wall or window frame adjacent to the curtain. The other end of the strip is left free of attachment to the wall.

In the preferred construction herein illus-, trated, the fastener is arranged on the underside of the strip adjacent to one end thereof. I have illustratively shown the fastener in the form of a ring l5 which may be secured to the strip in any desired manner, for example, by means of the stitching IS. The ring I5 may be of bone, plastic, metal, or equivalent material, or it may be of flexible material. In fact, the fastener need not assume the form of a ring, but may consist of a hook, a clasp, or any other convenient or desired device.

By means of this fastener, the tie-back is secured to the wall or window frame ll, by engagement of the fastener with a suitable hock l8, or other complementary device carried. by the wall. This is indicated most clearly in Figure 4, and it will be observed that the fastener is neatly concealed behind the end of the strip M.

In accordance with my invention, the strip is provided, adjacent to the fastener l5, with a tunnel or keeper which is adapted to permit passage through it of the free end of the strip I 4 after the latter has been looped around the curtain. The keeper may be of any desired character, so long as it is of sufiiciently constricted size to effect a frictional engagement between it and the free end of the strip [4. I have illustratively shown the simple provision of a fabric band l9 extending transversely across the strip l4 and secured at its ends, for example, by means of the stitching 20, to the opposite edge portions of the strip M. This is a preferred way of providing the keeper, because of its extreme simplicity and low cost of manufacture.

In use, the tie-back I4 is first anchored to the wall or Window frame by engaging the fastener IE to the anchoring element l8 secured to the wall. This leaves the opposite end of the tieback entirely free of connection with the wall. Its free end is then looped around the curtain and passed through the keeper, i. e., beneath the band IQ of the construction illustrated in the present drawing. By passing more or less of this free end through the keeper, the efiective length of the tie-back may be varied, thereby adjusting the size of the loop which engages around the curtain.

By virtue of the fact that the tie-back is composed of limp flexible material, such as fabric, and because the passage beneath the keeper, i. e., the space between the band [9 and the strip [4, is relatively constricted, a frictional engagement is effected between the keeper and the strip portion that is passing through it. As a result, the tie-back retains itself at any adjusted eifective length thereof. This is a great advantage, since it dispenses with the necessity for any special holding means or fasteners, and since it allows the user to adjust the tie-back to any desired extent with a minimum of effort and without requiring any special skill.

The free end of the tie-back, after passage through the keeper, is merely tucked back, as shown in Figure 4, for frictional retention behind the curtain itself, and thus becomes completely concealed from view, regardless of its length.

After the curtain has been hung and draped, and the tie-back adjusted to the desired effective length, the appearance of the tie-back from the front is exactly the same as that of the conventional construction heretofore widely used.

The fact that the present tie-back is adjustable, or has been adjusted to one or another selected effective length, is completely imperceptible.

It will "thus be seen that I have provided a tie-back of unusual simplicity and capable of manufacture at a low cost, the tie-back nevertheless having the very great advantage of an adjustability not heretofore existent in conventional tie-backs.

In general, it will be understood that those skilled in the art may make changes in the details herein described and illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. It is, therefore, intended that these details be interpreted as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: a

1. A tie-back for a draped curtain, comprising a strip of flexible material provided at one end with a fastener adapted to secure said end to the wall adjacent to the curtain, the other end of said strip being free, and a keeper carried by the strip adjacent to said fastener and adapted to receive said free end through it after the latter has been looped around the curtain, whereby the eiTective length of the tie-back is adjustable by passing more or less of said free end through said keeper.

2. A tie-back as set forth in claim 1, said keeper being of sufficiently constricted size to effect a frictional engagement between it and said free end, whereby said tie-back retains itself at any adjusted effective length thereof.

3. A tie-back as set V forth in claim 1, said fastener being arranged on the underside of said strip for concealment by the end portion of the strip.

4. A tie-back as set forth in claim 1, said keeper comprising a band extending transversely across the strip and secured at its ends to the opposite edge portions of the strip.

BERNARD ROSENBERG. 

